World Famous Bondi Beach Trashed by Tourists!

Just recently, my local beach was trashed by tourists; literally…. with thousands of bottles littering our beach after a hot summer’s day and this is what inspired this blog.

Firstly, a big thanks to all ISV’s participants who are making an effort to reduce their plastic consumption overseas and at home, and most importantly, respecting the places they visit and never, ever, littering, even if locals do. If only those same behaviours had been displayed at my own home beach just recently….

I live near the world-famous Bondi Beach, Sydney Australia. It was after work one day when I went for a stroll to the beach. The weather had been incredible….. It was about 30°C (over 100°F) and even at 6pm the beach was still packed with overseas tourists and people from other suburbs of Sydney. However, I couldn’t believe what I saw… The visitors came, enjoyed our beach, and then left their trash in the sand as they packed up to go home. The place was a disgrace. At Bondi the next morning, the locals were picking up the thousands of bottles and other trash that littered our beach. Unfortunately some of the rubbish would already have gone into the ocean with the full tide.

Locals collecting the trash left by tourists at Bondi

On ISV’s programs we make a big deal out of responsible tourism. A big part of this is respecting the places we visit and also the people who live there, and not just on distant shores, but at home too. I sincerely believe that ISV alumni would never have done what those visitors did to my local beach last week. In fact, they are more likely to pick up rubbish than ignore it. Again, a BIG THANKS to all ISVer’s that serve as role models for responsible tourism in our host countries and in the future.